Emerging filmmakers showcased at this year’s Hong Kong Cinema in San Francisco (with photos)

     The eighth annual Hong Kong Cinema, presented by SFFILM in partnership with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco, the United States, will showcase works by some of Hong Kong's emerging film talents. The festival opened this evening (September 28, San Francisco time) with "Tomorrow Is Another Day", the first feature film directed and written by screenwriter Chan Tai-lee. Of the seven movies in this year's line-up, five were directed by new directors and rising stars.

     At the opening night reception, the Acting Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in San Francisco, Mr Michael Yau, said he was pleased that SFFILM was taking notice of Hong Kong's up and coming film talents. One of these new directors, Jevons Au, also joined the reception. "Distinction", a social drama about Hong Kong's educational system is Au's feature debut. Other movies included in this series, "Vampire Cleanup Department", "Somewhere Beyond the Mist" and "The Brink" are all debut features, noted Mr Yau.

     "It's exciting to be celebrating such fresh talent in this year's programme," said SFFILM Senior Programmer Mr Rod Armstrong. "With a record number of debut features that delve into social realism, action-packed thrills, and other exiting arenas, the 2018 line-up not only demonstrates a regional shift of support for the next generation of filmmakers, but also an impressively broad range of subject matter."

     Mr Yau added that "Somewhere Beyond the Mist", a winning project under the First Feature Film Initiative launched in 2013 to nurture new film talents, and "Tomorrow is Another Day", were financed by the Film Development Fund (FDF). "Since its inception in 2007, the FDF has financed over 30 film projects involving funding of over US$11 million. These films have won nearly 100 awards at local and overseas film festivals," he said.

     The cast of the opening night film, "Tomorrow Is Another Day", includes a mixture of veterans and new actors whose acting skills have already been recognised. Ling Man-lung was named Best New Performer at the 37th Hong Kong Film Awards for his role as an autistic teenager, and Teresa Mo, who played his mother in the movie, won Best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Asia-Pacific Film Festival. "I hope you will enjoy the movie this evening and the superb acting skills of the two generations," Mr Yau said.

     Other programme highlights of this three-day festival include a musical biopic, "House of the Rising Sons", and a documentary portrait of an artist, "I've got the Blues".